The EU as an old couple

European Voice criticises Austria for trying to avoid a real debate on economic protectionism and on those issues that really hurt the EU leaders and the EU economy (‘Austria puts its head in the sand at summit‘, 23-29 March).

European Voice

4/5/06, 5:00 PM CET

Updated 4/12/14, 12:25 PM CET

But what is the point in having the debate when you know that no conclusion is possible? The EU is like an old couple where differences between the partners are so big that there is no point in trying to talk them through.

What is the point in trying to tell Jacques Chirac that protectionism is no good? The result is a foregone conclusion. But while everybody understands that there is perhaps no point in having the debate about protectionism now, what the EU leaders should avoid at any price sending the message that everything is fine between them.

It is not and they should not do so. There are major ideological and political divisions between them. Admitting it would be healthier and pretending that the divisions do not exist is dangerous. Because EU citizens will, next time around, through a referendum or a European election, again penalise the Union for what goes wrong in their country’s economies – since the divisions between members states and the EU’s incapacity to act because of them would have been hidden from them so carefully.